Shaye Blegen A&HE 4057, Troise 5/6/13 Shifting Language: Motivations and Valuation Duration: 12-13 weeks Context:

This unit is designed for a 12th grade English class in a mid-range performing school composed of students with a diverse range of interests and skill levels. Many students in the class plan to attend fouryear or community college. The overarching objective of this unit is for students to develop a critical understanding of themselves as language users and to apply this understanding to their work as readers, writers, and speakers. Throughout the unit, we will explore the complex relationships between language, community, and identity. In particular, we will focus on the style shifts that writers and speakers make in relation to their purpose and audience. Students will work to identify these shifts in the texts we study. They will explore the questions of how and why the writers/speakers employ these shifts and the effect these shifts have on voice. Students will use this knowledge to identify the contexts in which they employ language style shifts, will carefully craft their language usage depending on task, purpose, and audience, and will work on developing their voices as writers and readers. As the unit progresses, we will explore the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations leading to shifts in language usage and we will question the criteria people use to assign value to someones language use. Skills: Over the course of the unit, students will work on developing the following skills: Identify and analyze ones language use, how it develops, and how it shifts Identify and analyze an author/speakers language use in relation to purpose (creative, informative, argumentative, etc.) 3 Develop a working knowledge of literary terms and their potential functions in establishing tone and voice within a text 4 Closely analyze small portions of an author and/or characters language in text 5 Synthesize an author and/or characters language use over an entire text 6 Engage in research projects that involve observation, collecting data, analyzing data, and drawing tentative conclusions 7 Clearly identify a purpose/audience for writing and tailor language to that purpose/audience 8 Use specific textual evidence to support claims 9 Use stages of the writing process (brainstorming, drafting, revision, etc.) 10 Learn and use conventions of MLA citation and formatting (in-text citations and bibliographies) 11 Work collaboratively with peers during small group discussions, peer review, and small group activities 12 Learn to criticize and evaluate ones language usage in written work, and use this information as a tool for self-assessment 1 2

13 Work toward developing a distinct voice 14 Use a critical eye to examine the effect of surrounding communities and cultural influences on language use/language style shifts Questions: The questions that drive this unit are as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 How do we navigate/negotiate multiple language communities? a How do we create shifts in our language use? How does our language use define/not define us? a How does our language use contribute to our development of voice? In what contexts do we consume language, and how do we do so? In what contexts do we produce language, and how do we do so? What prompts style shifts in our language use? a How much of that shift is intrinsically v. extrinsically motivated? How do we assign value to someones language usage?

Rationale: In the English classroom, language use often falls under three categories: that of the teacher, the author/character, and the student. These classifications overlook the multiplicity of language use present in texts and in our society, especially in terms of the varied language communities within which students must navigate. This unit seeks to make students more critically aware of their roles as consumers and producers of language. It also pushes them to look closely at the multiple language communities in which they participate and to delve into questions of motivation and valuation regarding specific types of language. This unit moves students language use beyond the confines of the classroom and pushes students to think through questions that will lead them to be more critical readers, listeners, speakers, and writers in their multiple, varied worlds. Standards (CCSS): RL 12.1, 12.2, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.10 RIT 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 12.10 W 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9, 12.10 SL 12.1, 12.3, 12.4, 12.6 L 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6 Texts:

Bilingual/Bilingue, Rhina P. Espaillat Excerpts from Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris (written text and audio) Girl, Jamaica Kincaid Current events newspaper articles/news videos/Op-eds/ads (mostly student-selected) Excerpts from You Know My Steez: An Ethnographic and Sociolinguistic Study of Styleshifting in a Black American Speech Community, Samy Alim Speaking with Hands, Louis Rodriguez Everything is Illuminated, Jonathan Safran Foer

Selections from Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri Selections from A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, Yiyun Li How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldua How to Write about Africa, Binyavanga Wainaina The Lonely Londoners, Sam Selvon One Poem Town, Lillian Allen (written text and audio) Them & Uz, Tony Harrison Excerpts from Articulate While Black: Barack Obama, Language, and Race in the U.S. by Samy Alim Acceptance Speech on the Occasion of the Awarding of the Degree of Doctor of Civil Law, Honoris Causa, Manmohan Singh Excerpts from Decolonising the Mind, Ngugi wa Thiongo

Assessments: The assessment descriptions that would be distributed to students are as follows: 1 Language Profile Your language profile is an ongoing project you will work on throughout the unit. The purpose of the profile is for you to explore your own language usage on a variety of levels. The profile will consist of multiple assignments that increase in complexity throughout the unit. The components of the profile are as follows: a Language Communities Profile i Create a final version of the Language Communities Map you create in class (more on this later) ii Write a brief, 1-2 pg. description of the language communities in which you participate (dont worry; well discuss this in depth in class). In your write-up, be sure to address: 1 What communities you participate in 2 Who the members of the communities are 3 A general description of how you interact with members of each community (formally, informally, etc.) and what you generally discuss. b Autoethnography i In this assignment, you will select 3 language communities in which you participate and will adopt the role of self-researcher. ii Examine one specific interaction you have in each of the three language communities. Consider the following questions: 1 Who did you speak with? 2 What did you talk about? 3 How did you talk about it? a What types of language did you use? Were you formal/informal? Did you use slang? Did you use academic language? iii Write a 2-3 pg. report in which you compare your interactions in these language communities. Consider the following questions:

Were there any similarities in what you talked about or how you talked about it? a How did this depend on who you were speaking with/where you were? 2 What tentative conclusions can you draw from this comparison? 3 Use excerpts from your conversations in your report. If you do not remember the exact wording, approximate what you/others said. Language Identity Bio i Your Language Identity Bio will be a comprehensive explanation of who you are as a language user in this point of your life. In your bio, you must address the following questions: 1 What language communities do you participate in? 2 To what degree do you think our language defines who you are? What part does it play in your identity? a How would you describe your voice as a writer? A speaker? 3 When do you most often consume language, when do you most often produce it? Why? a When you write, what audiences do you address and how do you cater to those audiences? 4 How and when do you shift your language use among your language communities? a Why do you make these shifts? b What are the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for these shifts? 5 How do you value your language usage? How do you think others value your language usage? Why? 6 What texts were most helpful in challenging you to think through these questions? Discuss at least three texts and use specific textual evidence to support your reasoning. ii You may present your Bio in any way you wish (formal paper, digital presentation, poster presentation, video, dramatic interpretation, etc.) 1 Whatever you choose, you must address all the questions above in a way that shows you have thought carefully and critically about these issues. 2 Do not forget to include a bibliography!

Literary Language Analysis In your Literary Language Analysis, you will look closely at the language use of one author and analyze the choices he/she makes in regards to audience and purpose. You may select any of the texts we have read so far (I would suggest using a shorter work). a For the text you choose, write a 2-3 pg. analytical paper in which you address the following questions: i What is the purpose of this authors piece? ii How does the author make his/her purpose clear? 1 Think about structure, diction, tone, and other literary devices meaningful to establishing purpose.

2 Use specific textual evidence to support your point. iii What is the implied audience for this piece? 1 How do we know? a What is the format of the piece? Is it from a particular publication? b What language communities might this author be targeting? c To what language communities might this author belong? 2 What does the author do to cater to this audience? a Think about diction, tone, voice, and other literary devices meaningful to the establishment of audience. b Use specific textual evidence to support your point. i It might be helpful to focus in on a few key passages. 3 Ethnography Project In your ethnography project, you will engage in similar research as in your auto-ethnography project, except this time you will examine the language use of someone else. a Select a person to shadow for a day. This can be a friend, relative, or someone else you know well. b For one day, follow this person around (make sure you pick a day where the person will not be staying in the same place). c Record specific observations and snip-its of conversations between the person and others in multiple situations. i Make sure you double-check with the person that he/she is ok with you recording his/her words. d Review your notes and, in a 4-5 pg. report, answer the following questions: i Who was the person you shadowed? Tell us a bit about his/her background. ii Who did the person speak with? iii What did they talk about? iv How did they talk about it? 1 What types of language did they use? Were they formal/informal? Did they use slang? Did they use academic language? v How did this depend on who he/she was speaking with/where he/she was? vi How does this compare to your auto-ethnography? 1 What do you and this person share as language users? What is different? What do you think the reasons are for these differences?

Learning Activities: 1 Language Word Wall a At the beginning of the unit, students will be given a set of index cards (or post-its). On each index card, students will write down a language that they speak. They can create multiple index cards if they speak multiple languages. b In addition, students will use an index card to write down a word they use most frequently.

We will attach the cards/post its to a piece of chart paper and post it prominently in the classroom. As the unit progresses, we will add to the Word Wall and will incorporate languages, words, and phrases used by the authors we study. This Word Wall should serve as a visual depiction of the multiplicity of languages that our class encounters. Language Community Mapping a Students will create a map of the multiple language communities in which they participate. While the map does not have to be entirely realistic/to-scale, students should create clear visuals of the general location of the community (school, home, neighborhood, etc.) and the connections between them (far away, closely connected, etc.). Students should be able to explain why they drew the visuals the way they did, especially if they drew abstract images. b We may use an excerpt from the beginning of Anzalduas How to Tame a Wild Tongue as a model of what language communities one might participate it. We will also extend our definitions to include school communities, athletic communities, etc. c Students will revise their maps for their Language Profile. Writer v. Speaker Comparison a Students will both read the written text and listen to an audio recording of an excerpt from David Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day. Students will discuss (both in small groups and as a whole class) the differences they saw/heard in the written text versus (writer) and the audio recording (speaker) and why they think the author made those changes, thinking specifically about purpose and audience. This is How Poems a After reading Girl, students will emulate Kincaids piece by writing a poem in which they describe the criteria for how someone should behave to enact a certain type of identity. This activity provides an entry point to think about how an author tailors her language to a specific purpose and experiment with tailoring their own language to that purpose. Current Events/Advertisement Analyses a Throughout the semester, students will bring in an article, Op-ed, or advertisement addressing a current events issue. At the beginning of the semester, students will have time in class to write about the purpose/audience of the piece and how the authors chooses to address the purpose/audience. b As the semester progresses, students will come to class prepared with these analyses and share their texts and interpretations with their classmates in roundtable discussions. Overview of Ethnography a Before students begin their Autoethnography, we will review the definitions of ethnography and sociolinguistics. We will also look at excerpts from Alims You Know My Steez as general models for their project. We will review excerpts again before students embark on their Ethnography Project. Peer Review a Throughout the unit, students will engage in highly structured peer-review sessions in which they review each others Autoethnography Reports, Literary Language Analyses, and Ethnography Projects. Most peer review activities will require students to take a

10

11

12

13

14

peers work home the night before and review it carefully so they are prepared to discuss the work in detail the following day. Elements of Voice a After reading Speaking with Hands, the class will work together to come up with a list of literary devices and tools they identified in the poem that contributed to the authors voice (we will be sure to discuss tone and diction). We will add other literary devices with which students are familiar. The teacher (or a student volunteer) will type up a copy of the list to distribute to students. They will use this list as they explore voice for the duration of the unit, especially for their Voice Double-Entry Logs and Literary Language Analyses. Voice Exploration/Emulation a Throughout the unit, students will engage in short, in-class free-writes in which they adopt the voices of particular authors/characters in the texts we are studying. Periodically, students will write reflections on the specific elements of voice they focused on in their free-writes. b In addition, students will be encouraged to free-write in their own voices throughout the unit and write reflections on how they see their voice developing as writers. Voice Double-Entry Log a Stemming from the Voice Emulation exercise, students will begin to keep a double-entry log in which they track particular words/phrases they think contribute to each of the main characters voices (Foer and Alex) in Everything is Illuminated. Students will use their double-entry log when they write their in-class language synthesis (see below). Reading Responses and Audits: Everything is Illuminated a Students will be responsible for writing 2 pg.-long, typed reading responses for select reading assignment for Everything is Illuminated. When we finish the novel, students will turn in an audit in which they include two of their reading responses and a reflection on how their thinking has changed over the course of reading the novel. MLA Citations a Before students begin their Literary Language Analysis, we will review the conventions of MLA citation (both in-text citation and bibliographies). We will review the information again as students write their Ethnography Project and their Language Identity Bios. Each time, students will practice writing their citations and bibliographies in class to avoid over-reliance on citation generators like EasyBib. Language Synthesis a After we finish Everything is Illuminated, students will write a short in-class essay in which they synthesize the language use of the two main voices across the course of the novel. They will be able to use their Voice Double-Entry Logs and their text when writing the essay. They will be expected to talk about specific choices the author made in terms of voice, but will address voice on a broader scale than in their Literary Analysis Papers, in which they analyzed very specific instances of language use. Language Producer/Consumer Log a For 2-3 days, students will keep an informal double-entry log. On one side of the page, students will record instances in which they produce language (writing for school, texting, conversations, chatting online, etc.). On the other side of the page, they will

15

16

17

18

record instance in whey they consume language (watching TV, listening to music, overhearing conversations, reading, etc.). Students will use this log to help them answer question 3 in their Language Identity Bio. Intrinsic Motivations a When we read selections from Interpreter of Maladies and A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, we will create a working list of intrinsic motivators that lead someone to switch his or her language use (family, heritage, cultural ties, romantic relationships, etc.). We will add to this list as the unit continues and post in it a prominent place in the classroom. Students will also make their own personal lists and add motivators that apply specifically to them. They will use this list to help them answer question 4 in their Language Identity Bios. Extrinsic Motivations a When we read the entirety of Anzalduas How to Tame a Wild Tongue, we create a working list of extrinsic motivators that lead someone to switch his or her language use (educational institutions, popular media, surrounding communities, etc.). We will add to this list as the unit continues and post in it a prominent place in the classroom. Students will also make their own personal lists and add motivators that apply specifically to them. They will use this list to help them answer question 4 in their Language Identity Bios. Colonialism Mini-Lecture and Station Activity a Before we enter the portion of the unit where we begin to pay close attention to the valuation of language use, students will listen to and take notes on a brief lecture about colonialism (particularly British colonialism), as many of the texts we study in this portion of the unit take place in British colonies, or in colonial immigrant communities in Britain. Many of the authors draw from or explicitly discuss their experiences growing up and living in British colonies. b After the mini-lecture, students will explore a selection of British colonies we will discuss in the unit (Trinidad, Jamaica, India, and Kenya) in a station activity involving informational texts, videos, and audio recordings. How to Write about... Creative Responses a In response to Wainainas How to Write about Africa, students will write a How to Write about... satire about a language community with which they identify. Before they begin writing, students will brainstorm a general list of assumptions that are generally made about the community they select. Then, they will think about specific words/phrases people might use to describe the community and specific/words phrases people would assume members of that community use. This will push students to think about how an author tailors his language to his purpose and how this can relate to ideas of valuing and devaluing language use within communities.

19 Reading Responses and Audits: The Lonely Londoners a Students will be responsible for writing 2 pg.-long, typed reading responses for select reading assignment for The Lonely Londoners. When we finish the novel, students will turn in an audit in which they include two of their reading responses and a reflection on how their thinking has changed over the course of reading the novel.

20 Language Valuation Spectrums a As we read The Lonely Londoners, we will explore how certain characters language use is valued/devalued by the West Indian and White English communities in the novel. On a large piece of chart paper, we will draw two spectrums ranging from Least Valued to Most Valued. On the spectrums, we will chart the degree to which we find certain characters language to be valued/devalued by either the West Indian community or the White English community. We will write the characters name and the type of language use the community seems to be valuing/devaluing. We will revisit the spectrum and readjust character placements throughout our reading of the novel. Example for White English community:

21 Language Valuation Spectrum (self) a Similar to the Spectrum we created for The Lonely Londoners, students will create a Language Valuation Spectrum for their own language use. They will create a separate spectrum for each community and rate how each of their different types of language use are valued/devalued by certain communities. Students will draw on their Language Communities Map and the language shifts they studied in their Autoethnography to help define what types of language use to place on the spectrum. Students will use their spectrums to help them answer the questions How do you value your language usage? and How do you think others value your language usage? Why? in their Language Identity Bios. 22 Creating a One Poem Town a In response to Lillian Allens One Poem Town, students will work in small groups to design a One Poem Town (i.e., a community that only accepts one type of language use and overtly rejects any other language/language variations). Students will name the town, describe the community (rough demographics), and come up with the institutions/extrinsic motivators that limit language use in the town (community organizations, school systems/universities, town laws/bylaws, etc.). Students will have the option of doing a write-up of their One Poem Town, or creating a visual or map, as long as the visual includes specific descriptions. Students will share their Towns with the class in a gallery-walk style presentation. 23 Them and Uz a Students will break down and research the cultural and historical references in Harrisons Them and Uz to explore how pronunciation can affect language valuation on a regional/socioeconomic level within a strictly English-speaking community. Students will present their findings to the class the following day (See Lesson Plan C).

24 Readers Workshop and Jigsaw a As we encounter more difficult texts, the class will be divided into three differentiated groups. One third of the class will read excerpts from Articulate While Black, one third will read Singhs Acceptance Speech, and one third will read Decolonising the Mind. Students will read the text prior to class and prepare notes on their understanding. In small groups, students will discuss with others who read the same text. They will work to improve their understanding by sharing their notes and reading through the text together, stopping at points of confusion. Students will prepare a brief summary of the reading and important ideas/points to consider for the jigsaw. This may take multiple days, considering the difficulty of the texts. b The next day, students will jigsaw in groups of three to summarize their texts and discuss their findings. After the jigsaw, we will engage in a whole-class discussion to synthesize understandings of all three texts. 25 Socratic Seminar a After the readers workshop, students will conduct a student-led Socratic Seminar in which they explore the ideas of language valuation they encountered in The Lonely Londoners, Articulate While Black, Acceptance Speech, and Decolonising the Mind. Differentiation: This unit provides differentiation for a variety of learning profiles in that it provides activities that may appeal to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners throughout the unit. For example, the Language Word Wall, Language Community Maps, and Language Valuation Spectrums provide visuals to which students can refer throughout the unit. In addition, students are welcome to use images in their Current Event/Advertisement Analyses. Throughout the unit, we will listen to audio recordings of literary works, such as excerpts from Sedaris Me Talk Pretty One Day, Lillian Allens One Poem Town, and Tony Harrisons Them & Uz, and students will analyze audio recordings in their Ethnography Projects. There will be multiple presentations (One Poem Town, Them & Uz and (optional) Language Identity Bios) and a Colonialism Stations Activity that may appeal to the learning preferences of those who learn best kinesthetically. Throughout the unit, students will have opportunities to work individually, in small groups, and in large groups. Students will also have an opportunity to learn through discussion through multiple small group discussions, whole-class discussions, and the Socratic Seminar. Students may choose the format in which they present their work in their One Poem Towns (choice of write-up or visual) and their Language Identity Bios (any format they wish). In terms of readiness and content, the research students conduct on Them & Uz will involve sources with a range of text difficulty, and in the Readers Workshop Jigsaw students will be assigned to texts according to readiness and text difficulty. In addition, the teacher will conference often with students both individually and in groups to check for understanding.

Three Detailed Lesson Plans: Sample Lesson A Language Community Mapping Aim: How can we define and visualize the multiple language communities in which we participate? Rationale: The Language Community Maps will push students to identify and think about the language communities in which they participate. As the unit progresses, students will use this knowledge to identify shifts in their language use between these communities and examine the effect of these communities on their language use/language style shifts CCSS: RL 12.4; RIT 12.4; W 12.4, 12.10; SL 12.1, 12.6 EQs: 1 How do we navigate/negotiate multiple language communities? Procedure (50 min): 1 5 min Do Now a Think about one community with which you identify (neighborhood, school, a sports team, etc.). How do you speak in that community (formally or informally? English or another language)? Do you use any slang or phrases that are unique to that community? 2 3-5 min Share Do Now (in small groups or whole-class) 3 10-15 min Read excerpt of Anzalduas How to Tame a Wild Tongue (from Chicano Spanish sprang out of the Chicanos need to identify... to Ive lost most of the Pachuco tongue.) a Student volunteers read aloud. b Whole-class discussion: What language communities does Anzaldua participate it? What other types of language communities might someone participate in? i Chart up responses on board. 4 5 min Explain Language Community Map. Draw quick model on board. a Map should contain the multiple language communities in which the student participates. b Map does not have to be entirely realistic/to-scale, but should contain clear visuals of the general location of the communities and the connections between them. c Students should be able to explain why they drew the visuals the way they did. 5 20 min Students create their own Language Community Maps. a As students finish, they can share their maps with one another. Homework: Finish your Language Community Map if you did not finish it in class.

Sample Lesson B Girl Aim: How does Kincaid tailor language to her purpose? Rationale: Following lessons in which students explore how David Sedaris changes his language use as a writer v. speaker, studying Kincaids poem provides an entry point for students think about how an author tailors her language to a specific purpose (in this case, to instruct) and experiment with tailoring their own language to that purpose. CCSS: RL 12.4, 12.6; W 12.4, 12.5, 12.10; SL 12.1, 12.6; L 12.2, 12.3 EQs: 1 How do we create shifts in our language use? 2 How does our language use contribute to our development of voice? 3 What prompts style shifts in our language use?

Procedure (50 min): 1 5 min Do Now a Think about a simple task you do nearly every day (brush your teeth, make your bed, etc.). Write a list of instructions that you would give someone to teach them how to complete that task. 2 5 min Share Do Now. Discussion question: What type of language did you use to write your instructions? Do we notice any similarities in the types of words/phrases people used? 3 5 min Read Girl. Student volunteers read aloud. 4 5-10 min. Small group discussion. Students answer the following questions: a What is the speakers purpose in this poem? (Is it genuine or somewhat satirical?) i What type of identity b What type of language does Kincaid use to convey this purpose? Think about specific words/phrases, especially repeated words/phrases. i Underline them on your copy of the poem. 5 10 min Whole class discussion. Students share their responses from small group work. a Chart repeated words/phrases on board. b Come to a consensus: What is the speakers purpose? 6 5 min Explain This is How Poems a Students will emulate Kincaids piece by writing a poem in which they describe the criteria for how someone should behave to enact a certain type of identity, using the mantra This is how throughout. 7 10 min Students start working on This is How poems Homework: Finish your This is How poem.

Sample Lesson C Them and [uz] Aim: How can we break down historical and cultural references in Them and [uz] to help us understand how standardized pronunciation affects identity? Rationale: Researching and analyzing historical and cultural references in Tony Harrisons Them and [uz], will help students develop a deeper understanding of the societal forces that might work against the use of a speakers home language, the values communicated in such suppression, and the effect this devaluation may have on a speakers language identity. Context: At this point in the unit, students will have done extensive work thinking about their own identity as language users in terms of intrinsic and micro-level influences (family, friend groups, smallknit communities). This lesson is part of a shift toward considerations of extrinsic influences on language usage (society, culture, history), and will follow a few introductory lessons where students explore possible extrinsic influences on language. Differentiation: This lesson helps differentiate for different learning profiles by providing students with the opportunity to experience the poem auditorily and visually. The Do Now provides a differentiated entry point by allowing students to create a representation of their pronunciation in a way that makes most sense to them, and the primary activity gives students the option to work individually or in small groups. The lesson is also differentiated for content because students may use Internet resources with text complexity that suits them, and students will have the option of using a graphic organizer to record their research. CCSS: RL 12.2, 12.4; RIT 12.7; W 12.4, 12.7, 12.10; SL 12.1, 12.4, 12.6; L 12.1, 12.4, 12.5

EQs: 1 How does our language use define/not define us? a How does our language use contribute to our development of voice? 2 In what contexts do we produce language, and how do we do so? 3 What prompts shifts in our language use? a How much of that shift is intrinsically v. extrinsically motivated? 4 How do we assign value to someones language usage? Procedure (50 min): 1 5 min Do Now a How do you pronounce the following words: often, interesting, caramel? What sounds do you emphasize? Write (or draw) your pronunciation in whatever way makes most sense to you. 2 3-5 min Share Do Now. a Guiding Questions for student volunteers: How did you learn to pronounce the word that way? Has anyone ever told you that you were pronouncing it incorrectly?

10 min Hand out copies of Them and [uz], and play audio recording. As students listen, have them write down what pronunciations sound strange to them/words they dont understand. Share and discuss (chart responses on board). a Recording: http://www.thepoetrychannel.org.uk/poems/them-and-uz/ 10 min Play the first half of the recording again. This time, have students listen for the exchanges between the speaker and the person advising him to correct his pronunciation. Share and discuss (students may write responses or share out). a Guiding Questions: Who do you think this person is? (director, teacher, etc.). Whose heritage is he referring to? 20 min Divide students into groups of 3-4. Assign each group to become experts on a particular aspect of the poem. Provide students with laptops to conduct research and links to sites related to their topics with varying text complexity. After students compile sufficient information on their topics, they will write answers to the following questions. Provide students with an optional graphic organizer to record their findings. Students who wish to work alone will have the option to do so. a Demosthenes i What work did Demosthenes do to pronounce things correctly? How does this contribute to your understanding of the poem? Compare the speaker of the poem to Demosthenes. What similarities do you see? b Verse v. prose in Shakespeare i How does the teacher/director value the speaker if he gives him the role of the Drunken Porter? How might this affect the speakers identity as an English speaker? c Received Pronunciation i What difference do you hear between the speakers pronunciation and RP? Which sounds more dignified? Why? How does the speaker feel about RP? d Daniel Jones i How does Jones biography contribute to your understanding of the poem? What does the speakers actions toward Jones and Littererchewer signify? Why do you think he spells Literature that way? How does this relate to his identity as an English speaker? e Wordsworth and Full v. Partial Rhyme i What does the speaker do by changing the nature of Wordsworths rhyme? How does he adapt the language to his identity? f The Times i Why do you think the newspaper changed the speakers name from Tony to Anthony? Do you think the speaker appreciates this change? Why or why not? How might this change affect his identity?

Homework: Work with your groups to finalize your responses and be prepared to present your discoveries to the class tomorrow. Students who worked individually may either add their discoveries to a group presentation or present a written report.